Cleveland Rolls To State Wrestling Title: Soddy Daisy Finishes Second

FRANKLIN -- The Cleveland Blue Raiders won their second traditional state wrestling championship in the last three years here at the Williamson County Agricultural Expo Center Saturday night, but the team title was locked up long before the championship finals were contested.

It was a memorable weekend for the Blue Raiders, who came into the tournament on Thursday with all 14 wrestlers qualified. They finished with eight medalists, which included a trio of champions.

Chris DeBien was victorious at 113 for his second state title while Austin Oliver was first at 126 and Hayden Hamilton a winner at 132.

Soddy Daisy had two champions, including 120-pound Jacob Stevens who won his third straight state title and was named the Outstanding Wrestler for the 2013 tournament. Blaike Henry was the winner at 182 as he defeated Cleveland's Ethan West in a 9-5 decision, a battle that was later voted Best Match.

Bradley was the only other team with more than two champions and the Bears had two, including Toribio Navarro at 106 and Robbie Clark at 160.

Also, Riverdale's Scottie Boykin was the winner at 195 while William Blount's T.J. Satterfield was first at 220 and Clarksville's Bruno Reagan the winner at 285.

Cleveland was strong from start to finish. The Blue Raiders had a 32.5-point lead after the first day on Thursday while the difference had swelled to 76.5 points following Friday's matches. Even with the team title already locked up at that point, the Blue Raiders kept their eye on the target on Saturday as they won six of eight in the consolations and then three of four in the finals.

The final margin of victory was 85.5 points as Cleveland was first with 232 and Soddy Daisy second with 146.5.

Ravenwood was third with 122 while Beech was fourth with 121 and Wilson Central fifth with 113.

Walker Valley finished sixth with 99 while Bradley finished in a tie for eighth with Clarksville with 87.5.

Jake Yost, the easy-going, laid-back first year coach for the Blue Raiders, really didn't know how to express how he really felt when everything had ended, but he was just proud to be part of a team that worked hard from the first day until the last and experienced an incredible amount of success as a result.

"We feel great right now as we accomplished a lot of goals and we had another great weekend," Yost said afterward.

"I'm pleased that we're leaving here with eight medalists, including three champions. Overall, it was just a great team effort. All of our guys really wrestled well and they all bought into what we were trying to teach. It's been a fun season and I'm just lucky to be part of it.

"Now we're going to relax and get something good to eat and just enjoy each other's company for the rest of the evening," Yost added.

While DeBien, Oliver and Hamilton were all winners for Cleveland, West was second at 182 while Josh Hamilton (152) and Aaron Lopez (160) both finished third while Tristan Blansit (106) and Austin Stevison (120) both finished fifth.

Soddy Daisy's six medalists included Stevens and Henry in first while Gage Richmond was third at 145. Austin Houser (113), Tucker Russo (126) and Garrett Alexander (170) all finished fourth.

Soddy Daisy coach Jim Higgins and his team have certainly been through trying times in recent weeks, but the Trojans have risen above all the misfortune and finished a strong second to Cleveland.

"I'm a lot better right now than I was last night," Higgins said, knowing that his team had a good day on Saturday after losing four of six in the championship semis Friday night.

"Things turned out well for us. I was nervous for a while, but I was really happy for Jacob and Blaike when they won tonight.

"We're not hanging our heads by any stretch and I think we sent out a message. I think we showed what kind of competitors we are by the way we came back," Higgins said.

Bradley's Clark may have had the unsung hero's tournament of the year as he won his first title with a hard-fought 10-8 decision over Ravenwood's Tanner Reynolds.

Bradley coach Ben Smith couldn't have been happier.

"It's better than one or none," he said when asked how he felt about having two champions this weekend.

"Robbie Clark is a feel-good story about a kid who has persevered and finally started to believe in himself. He's had an up and down season, but he set himself up for success. He was only 25-26 last year, but he's really worked hard and nobody is any more deserving of a state title than him," Smith suggested.

"Toribio never wavered from our game plan and he made it happen as well. And what about Dakota Ream. He had lost to Tucker Russo twice, but beat him today and did a great job. Nobody expected him to medal, but he finished third," Smith added.

Walker Valley had four medalists. Langford was first while Billy Raulston was runner-up at 195. Zack Miller was fifth at 220 while Chase Gregory finished sixth at 170.

Notre Dame, Central, East Ridge and Hixson all had two medalists while Ooltewah claimed one.

Notre Dame's two included the Mullin brothers -- Packy was second at 126 while Luke was sixth at 106.

Central's Dickerson was first at 152 while Michael Frazy was fifth at 145. Brandon Cantrell was fifth at 195 for East Ridge while C.J. Baker was sixth at 220.

Isaiah Hawthorne (126) and Aaron Alemany (160) both claimed sixth for Hixson while Matt Lemons was sixth at 132 for Ooltewah.

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